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State prepares for its first e-auctions, set for this Friday

This Friday the E-Auction online platform for foreclosures will for the first time also open for the state, which will start using the tool to pressure major debtors to settle their arrears to the tax authorities.

The first 15 properties, including both buildings and plots of land, concern debts adding up to 1 billion euros, ranging from 970,000 to 863 million euros, while the auction starting prices range from 96,000 to 600,000 euros.

Due to the government’s previous political decision to freeze all auctions for debts to the state, not one foreclosure was conducted last year by the state, while in the previous year there were just 11, prompted by the debtors themselves in their effort to pay their dues to the tax authorities.

Property auctions through the online platform are constantly on the rise, mainly triggered by banks. Up until Monday 7,230 new auctions had been announced, of which 400 will be conducted this week. The rate of new auction announcements confirms that the banks are sticking to their pledges to the European Central Bank’s Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) for a total of 10,000 online auctions within 2018. Still, most auctions prove fruitless as there is little buying interest.